Fight to WIN!!

Something I have learned in the life that God has blessed me with is when you are truly living out the calling that God has placed you in, you will....I REPEAT.....YOU WILL face spiritual warfare! There's no getting away from it. You can run, but you can't hide. Sometimes I feel as if I got the wind knocked out of me, other times I feel a little brain rattled, other times I literally fall right smack down on the ground....but, I'm determined to never stay down long enough for the enemy to count to 10 and let him have the pleasure of saying, " Ha! I won!" You see, with Jesus in my life, I might get bruised and battered in the fight but because HE reigns within me, I WIN because HE WINS EVERY SINGLE TIME!

2 things I've discovered that I must take to the battle line in order to Win:

1. PUT ON God's Armour
I've noticed that when I go into battle and I'm not wearing my armour, those are the time I REALLY get knocked out cold. That's when the "surprise" element comes out to play that something will happen and I wasn't totally prepared for it. Now, the cool thing with God is, it doesn't have to be that way. When we live our lives for God, His Spirit lives within us and REVEALS what God is thinking to us. Combine that God knowledge of His revelation to our lives and put on His armour and then go take on your day and watch how different the battle looks....ha!! It comes down to learning how to be a true overcomer. Read on....

I Corinthians 2:10-16 (MSG) reads,

"The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit."



When we live our lives by the spirit, that allows us to know the very details of life that we need because the Spirit of God lives within us that hangs out with Jesus who know's all and reveals all to His Spirit which gives us the insight as to what is going on in our lives. This is how we live our lives and not face unexpected circumstances when we live by the Spirit and keep on the full armour of God, always.

2. Strength comes from Joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The joy of the LORD is your strength!" I love to think of this verse backwards.....My strength is found in the joy of the Lord. One of the definitions of joy is: the source or cause of delight. That takes me to Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I love saying, 'Delight yourself in the Lord and HE WILL......." You want to win a battle, delight yourself in God and He will. Getting weary in the battle, your strength is found in your God-given JOY!! It's a crazy concept to think that when going through a battle you suddenly stop and roar out with laughter but I'm telling you, it really works!! The one thing that the enemy cannot relate to is JOY. He existence is to steal, kill, destroy....those are all from the root of one word: HATE. Joy and hate is like light and dark - they DO NOT relate to each other at all. So, when you are facing warfare, laugh in the face of the enemy because when it's all said and done......YOU WIN!!!

Tracee Lee

Cover Life with Laughter!

If you'd like to know one of my little secrets that keeps a smile on my face it's this: I laugh at myself a lot!! I don't know about you, but it seems like everyday I am doing something hilariously funny that literally cracks me up. I don't have to have loads of people around either - it can be just me, myself, and I and you got it - I'm dying laughing. We tend to take ourselves and this life too seriously - each day carries a new load of 'junk' that we carry, or surprises that hit us that day but when we can 'train' ourselves to not let it attach to us we find that we gain even more strength to take on the task that we are dealing with. So for me, laughter is really the best medicine around. Here are some of the things that I have done over the past few weeks...

A little over a week ago I was sitting in my living room when I heard what sounded like a spaceship taking off downstairs. I didn't have a clue what it was until Mark walked in and said, "Whoa, I think that's the dryer!" My first thoughts were, "No, not the dryer!! I don't want to have to pay for a new dryer right now, it's almost Christmas, I need to be buying Christmas presents, not a dryer!" Think about this: That thought brought a massive amount of stress on me in literally a split second. But no sooner had that thought come to mind when I found myself saying, "Tracee, everything is going to work out!!" I caught myself and stopped the stress of a dying dryer and realized that MY GOD was bigger than my dryer! And that HE would provide. Well, guess what! He did and all that dryer cost me was $40.00 after I ended up getting a phone call to go work in the studio that wasn't on my agenda that week....what did I do, I laughed! (my new dryer is even nicer than the one I had!! ha!)

Then, Sunday morning, a few weeks ago which are crazy day for me as always, rushing around trying to get last minute things done at church. I ended up having to do a quick insert for the bulletin but every time I tried to put this insert on postcard paper, it wouldn't work right - so I ended up having to put it on stock paper and then cut it with the cutter - instead of responding stressed, I laughed. So, here, while I was cutting the inserts, the hole punch kept getting in my way so I picked it up and you guessed it - the entire bottom of it fell off and bam - all those lovely little circles of paper confetti ended up EVERYWHERE - what did I do - I laughed.

Then, this past weekend I was looking for my phone and couldn't, for the life of me, find it ANYWHERE.....after a good long pause and lots of searching through my car and purse I discovered that I was talking to a friend on it the entire time!!

Then, last night, I was leaving the church parking lot, exhausted from a long but great day and was ready to head home and get to bed.....so, I put the car in reverse, hit the gas pedal and went backwards. I laughed as I tried to figure out what was going on. See, my mind was thinking forward but the car wasn't responding that way...so, I tried it again and went backwards AGAIN!! Instead of getting frustrated at this mistake...I laughed at myself as I came to the realization that I hadn't put my car in drive, got it in the right gear and off I went.

We are going to make mistakes, we are going to have 'duh' moments, we are going to have days when you feel like the world is sitting right smack on top of your head....just make sure you don't take yourself too seriously and remember - laugh it off. You'll discover that your everyday trials really aren't that bad at all. It's about perspective....so, laugh!! Always remember, God has all your 'oops' covered, your car not starting - covered, your dryer breaking down - covered, your every day life - covered!! Let Him do His job in your life and respond with a laugh cuz He has you covered.

James had it sooo right, "Consider it joy when you go through various trials and tribulations knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience!" :) James 1

LOL,

Tracee Lee

Don't Forget......TO LAUGH

Last week I was struck by a comment made by a speaker (who's name I can't remember...lol!) at a conference I was at....what he said was, "Don't forget...." After I heard that, I couldn't think of anything else the speaker said as my brain went on a shoe trail of thinking of all the 'don't forgets' I've done in my life and how if I really remembered those things I really don't need to forget, how much easier my life would be. Oh the joys of being human and having many many 'duh' moments this life brings. I'm one of those people that can make a shopping list and forget to leave my list at home. Now, I do have one good trait of actually being able to 'see' the list in my head and recall what I put on it...well, most everything I put on the list. lol!

So, I want to start a series of what I'm calling, Don't Forget. They'll be funny inspirations and spiritually challenging thoughts of the things we can't afford to forget as we walk closer and closer to our Master. It's the don't forgets that draw us closer to Him.....

Here we go.....

DON'T FORGET - TO LAUGH

Too many things in this life take away our laughter, our joy. When I read in the scriptures, I find a little secret that we must NEVER lose in order to succeed in this life that can be great, miserable, difficult, suffocating, fun, and crazy all in one. That key verse is: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 Did you see that secret - the joy of the Lord IS your STRENGTH. The way we find God's joy is by hanging out with Him - breathing Him in, living every single minute of every single day wtih Him. As we do that, His joy overtakes us and consumes everything we do.

Just the other day I woke up and was literally just not having a good day. My kids were sick, I didn't have a good night sleep, I just felt heavy inside. Even after reading the Word and praying that morning, I still didn't get that lift I was looking for. About 3 hours later, I was driving down the road and talking to God....I asked him, "Why do I literally feel so blah today?" You know what He said, "You have a choice of how you want to respond to all that's going on and how you feel...let it sink you or rise above it." Well, you guessed exactly what I did - I made the choice to seek JOY and when I did, I experienced HIS strength. It was wild! You might be saying, "Yeah, right! How could it be that easy?" I have to say it actually was. I literally, in one moment, made the decision to choose joy over how I was feeling and instantly I felt the heaviness begin to lift off me. Just as you choose to feel and accept the heaviness you are feeling, is just the same as you can choose to experience God's full joy for your life.

So, don't forget - LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH!! It's God's gift to YOU that is contagious.

Tracee

Yeast Rolls

I said this blog was about joy – so I thought I'd share with you one of the upteen million hilarious stories, jokes and videos I've been collecting in my funny file for over 6 years now. Over a 1000 to be exact! If you know me, laughing is literally one of my most favorite things to do. It's so contagious, so liberating and is like medicine to your heart. Okay, so what made me decide on this true and extremely funny story was I laughed so hard when I read it, again, that I had tears running down my cheeks. So, for today's blog – get ready to roar. With Thanksgiving just weeks away, this is one of the best Turkey Day Stories around…. Put down your coffee and make sure you are near a bathroom cuz this is F-U-N-N-Y!!    

CrazyTracee

Jasper and the Yeast Rolls


We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper. He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox
terrier rescue program. For those of you who are not familiar with this type of adoption, imagine taking
in a 10 yr. old child whom you know nothing about and committing to doing your best to be a good
parent.

Like a child, the dog came with his own idiosyncrasies. He will only sleep on the bed, on
top of the covers, nuzzled as close to my face as he can get without actually performing a French kiss on
me. Lest you think this is a bad case of 'no discipline,' I should tell you that Perry and I
tried every means to break him of this habit including locking him in a separate bedroom for
several nights. The new door cost over $200. But I digress.


Five weeks ago we began remodeling our house. Although the cost of the project is downright
obnoxious, it is 20 yrs' overdue, AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving for family, extended family,
and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time. I was, however, assigned the task
of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend. I'm still
blaming the electrician for getting the new oven hooked up so quickly; the only appliance in the
whole stinkin' house that worked, thus the assignment.


I made the decision to cook the rolls on Wednesday evening to reheat on Thursday morning.
Since the kitchen was freshly painted you can imagine the odor. Not wanting the rolls to smell
like Sherwin Williams latex paint #586,I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living
room to rise for 5 hours. After 3 hours, Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning in about an
hour. An hour later the rolls were ready to go in the oven. It was 8:30pm.


When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans, much to my shock, one whole pan of 12
rolls was empty. I called out to Jasper and my worst nightmare became a reality. He literally wobbled
over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man
wrapped up in fur. He groaned when he walked. I promise you, even his cheeks were bloated.

I ran to the phone and called our vet. After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the
dog would probably be OK, however, I needed to give him Pepto Bismol every 2 hours for the rest of the
night. God only knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they
were sick. Suffice to say that by the time we went to bed the dog was black, white and pink. He was so
bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.


Naively thinking the dog would be all better by morning was very stupid on my part. We arose at
7:30 and as we always do first thing; put the dog out to relieve himself. Well, Jasper was as
drunk as a sailor on his first leave. He was running into walls, falling flat on his butt and most of the
time when he was walking his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging
the grass or headed 90 degrees in another direction. He couldn't lift his leg to pee, so he would just
walk and pee at the same time. When he ran down the small incline in our back yard he couldn't stop
himself and nearly ended up running into the fence. His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a
loon.


I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he
explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk. He assured me that,
not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about 4 or 5 hours and to keep
giving him Pepto Bismol.

Afraid to leave him by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him up and took him with us to my
sister's house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day. My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a
ranch, (10 to 15 minute drive). Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning
from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and I, we took off.


Now I know you probably don't believe that dogs burp, but believe me when I say that after
eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter. They
would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station. But that's not the worst of
it. Now he was beginning to pass gas and they smelled like baked rolls. God strike me dead if I am not
telling the truth! We endured this for the entire trip to Karee's, thankful she didn't live any
further away than she did.


Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister's garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to
enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day. The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long
and everyone made trips to the garage to witness my drunk dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper's
latest endeavor to walk without running into something.


Of course, as the old adage goes, "what goes in must come out" and Jasper was no exception.
Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls, you might as well have put a
concrete block up my behind, but alas a dog's digestive system is quite different from yours or
mine. I discovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karee's house. Having discovered
his "packages" on the garage floor, we loaded him up in the car so we could hose down the floor. This was
another naive decision on our part. The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor and
the poop on the floor withstood the blast from the hose. It was like Portland cement beginning to set
up and cure. We finally tried to remove it with a shovel. I (obviously no one else was going to offer
their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the
floor.


And as if this wasn't degrading enough, Jasper in his drunken state had walked through the
poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too. Well, by this time the
dog was sobering up nicely so we took him home and dropped him off before we left for our second
Thanksgiving dinner at Perry's sister's house. I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is
back to normal both in size and temperament. He has had a bath and is no longer tricolor. None the worse
for wear I presume. I am also happy to report that just this evening I found 2 risen unbaked yeast
rolls hidden inside my closet door. It appears he must have come to his senses after eating 10 of them
but decided hiding 2 of them for later would not be a bad idea.


Now, I'm doing research on the computer as to "How to clean unbaked dough from the Carpet."